Having it to see and listen to, and to remember and accept, I come to taste the truth of the Tathagata's words. Yesterday, I came home in the afternoon after my bath, and when I got back to my cabin, there was something hanging from the handle of my cabin door. Upon some examination, I realized it was a carrot that was hanging in a long, thin leaf.

[01:14]

So, I took that to be a sign that somebody wanted to encourage the rabbit, the bunny, to cavort, and to come around, and not to... This bunny, this rabbit, is a very sensitive creature, and it's rather easily discouraged, and it's very sensitive to criticism. So, if somebody was to say, you know, nobody this week told me they didn't like my singing, but if somebody did, the poor little rabbit would be quite hurt, probably, because the rabbit wasn't trying to be a great singer,

[02:25]

but nonetheless, the rabbit would be sensitive to such criticism. Anyway, I took that as a sign of encouragement. So, we'll see, anyway, what the rabbit is up to today. Anyway, last time I talked, afterwards, I thought perhaps I had misled you. Talking about the summit of the mystic peak, someone assured me that, no, I didn't want you to think when I talked about the summit of the mystic peak,

[03:27]

but I don't understand it that way, so I must be on the level ground, and now I have to worry about getting to the summit. So, I wanted this week to say, actually, that there is no summit, and no level ground. So, you don't have to worry about whether you're here or there. And I wanted to try to, for us to try to look more carefully and closely, setting aside whether we call it the summit or the level ground, to look carefully at the place where we live. At the place, what kind of a place is it where you live?

[04:29]

Who is it that lives there? And what kind of people are they? And what kind of a place is it? Or what kind of a state do you find yourself in? Or what kind of, what are the dynamics of that state that you find yourself in? So, I think if we look at that, we find, if one was to, you might say, in the manner of speaking, we find actually a lot of carrots.

[05:37]

But I mean to say we don't find a lot of fancy restaurant meals, and things that look really great and exciting, and that we can feast upon. There's a lot of home cooking. There's a lot of grits, and cooked salad, and going to the refrigerator and having a glass of milk, and Wheaties for breakfast, and perhaps a cup of coffee. And it's not a grand production. And it's not much to write home about. And it's not much to congratulate yourself with.

[06:45]

But it is the place where we live, and it is the state we're in, and we can investigate closely what goes on there. The Zen teacher, Lin Chi, said, this man of no rank, what a piece of crap he is. It's like that, home cooking. Not much to write home about. But it's important that we find out how to be at home

[08:00]

in this place. We don't have much alternative. We don't have any alternative. And we can look at what kind of place it is. Is there someone always nagging or always complaining? Is there someone who wants to have a good time and be creative? Is there someone who wants to enjoy herself? Is there someone who wants to feel good about who he or she is? And is there someone who's always evaluating how I'm doing,

[09:09]

good and bad, right and wrong, better, worse? You should have something to show for your effort. What is the matter with you anyway? Still, after all these years, you don't have anything to show for your effort. Is there someone like that in the place where you live? Is there someone who says, you've worked so hard now, you've practiced so hard all this time, and you have nothing to show for it? You don't have anything to write home about.

[10:11]

Is there someone who is very sad or hurt or in pain in the place where you live? And what do you do then? Do you tell that pain or sadness or hurt, that it really doesn't matter how you feel? You shouldn't feel that way. It's all empty, you know. Or is there someone who gives advice?

[11:33]

Oh well, you just cross your legs and sit up straight and don't pay any attention to it. Just follow your breath. It's really simple, you know. You don't have to be subject to this pain and sadness and hurt. Is there someone who lectures? Who admonishes? Who berates? Who criticizes you when you're feeling hurt or sad? Or anxious or busy? You shouldn't be feeling this way. It's not being a good sound student. And what kind of voices are there where you live?

[12:39]

When you come to this place, if you look closely, you'll notice that within the dynamics of that state or that place, there's no way you can get out or away. You can't. However much you accomplish or achieve, someone will still be there to say, it's not good enough. It may be alright for those other people, but you know, you're someone very talented,

[13:50]

and so you have to accomplish even more. And no matter how happy you get, when there's some sadness, someone says, why are you so sad? You have everything you could possibly want. You have plenty to eat. And you have clothes on your back. And how could you be sad at this point? Aren't we a happy family? Aren't we having fun? Aren't we practicing the Buddha Dharma together? Isn't it wonderful? What's wrong with you anyway, that you would feel so sad? So who is it that's saying all those things?

[14:56]

And who is it that's believing them? And who is it that thinks that there is a self that corresponds to the words, and a world that corresponds to all those words? Who is it that buys into it? Who is it that invests in it? Who is it that wants something to write home about? So I want to tell you a poem.

[16:05]

By one of the ancients. I said to the wanting creature inside me, what is this river you want to cross? There are no travelers on the river road. And there is no road. Do you see anyone moving about on that bank? Or resting? There is no river. No boat. And no boatman. There is no tow rope. And no one to pull it. There is no ground. No sky. No time. No bank. And no Ford.

[17:09]

And no body. And no mind. Do you suppose there's somewhere else where the soul will be less thirsty? In that great absence you'll find nothing. Be strong then and enter into your own body. Then you'll have a solid place to put your feet. Think about it carefully. Don't go off somewhere else. Kabir says this. Just throw away all imaginary things.

[18:13]

And stand firm in that which you are. I think we do have to think about it carefully. What is imaginary? What are the imaginary things? And what is it that we are? And how is it that we can actually be where we are? And this is what today I would say practice is about.

[19:19]

Being where I am. Being in my body. Being. Feeling what I feel. And saying the things I say. And living. And finding out how to live in this place. Rather than trying to go somewhere else. In this place. And realizing this place is no particular place at all.

[20:33]

So this is where the song comes in. And it has to do with the idea that you know, when you open your eyes, you see what's in front of you. And you hear sounds. Your mind, our mind, functions perfectly. As seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, thinking, feeling, perceiving. So we don't try, in practice, to go someplace else.

[21:53]

To change the conditions. But to change the way we are. How we go about being in that place. This is a song you're probably familiar with. It goes like this. Relax your mind. Relax your mind. Make you feel so fine sometime. Sometime you've got to relax your mind. When the three bells ring, sit up straight and let your deep heart sing. Sometime you've got to relax your mind. When the one bell sounds, put your feet down on the ground.

[22:56]

Sometime you've got to relax your mind. Relax your mind. Relax your mind. Make you feel so fine sometime. Sometime you've got to relax your mind. When your legs are in pain, let your warm compassion ring. Sometime you've got to relax your mind. Relax your mind. What would you say to... You know, if someone is...

[24:02]

If you do something and right away you notice yourself saying, Oh, that wasn't very good. Oh, why did you do that like that? What's wrong with you anyway? Do you feel very good? And what does that voice have in mind? What is its intention? Is it trying to help you? And how do you talk back to it? How are you going to practice with it? How are you going to work with it? There's also a place... or a state...

[25:05]

It's described by... in various ways. But it says... Face south and see the Big Dipper. Now is this place the same place where you live already? Or is it a different place? When you look very closely at the place where you live, then you see that it's also the place where you face south and see the Big Dipper. It's the place where you can relax your mind. And you don't have to go somewhere else

[26:09]

in order to relax your mind. You don't have to turn about and struggle in order to see the Big Dipper. In this kind of an image, the Big Dipper is always right in front of you whichever way you face. And whichever way you face, and whatever you're doing, there's the possibility, the capacity, to relax your mind. When I thought about the bomb bike,

[27:11]

the Kabir, it reminded me of a story, another one of the stories in the Blue Cliff Record. This is about the... I forget, the Hermit of Lotus Peak or something like that. And he said, He said, When the ancients got here, why didn't they consent to stay here? And he answered, Because they don't gain strength on the road. And then he said, In the end, how is it? I put my staff across my shoulder

[28:22]

and paying no heed to people, I head straight into the myriad peaks. Doesn't that have the same feeling as... Anyway, similar feeling to, what is this river you want to cross? Be strong then, and enter into your own body.

[29:29]

In the end, how is it? A lot of home cooking. A piece of crap. A piece of crap. Not something to write home about. I'm looking closely. What is gain? What is loss? In the end, how is it? So when you come to this place where you live,

[30:44]

you don't have to consent to stay there. It doesn't mean consenting to stay there. And to keep recreating the same place, moment after moment after moment after moment, as though that's what practice was about. But you won't gain any strength from that. In the...

[32:02]

Some descriptions of the Buddhist path, it's said that a Buddhist practice begins with the insight into the nature of the body, into the truth of suffering, the First Noble Truth. So... This is finding yourself, where you are. And it's probably not a very pleasant or wondrous place. Or you'd probably hang out there. All of us would probably hang out there a lot more. But that's where practice begins.

[33:04]

And it's in the midst of that place that we give ourselves, we give ourselves to things, and we try to behave appropriately and have patience with those characters. And make some effort and concentrate. Otherwise we will be going off someplace else. But it's something... That place is something we can question. We can question all the assumptions about that place. And who's doing the talking? And why would I believe that?

[34:08]

And what is gain? And what is loss? And what is there to accomplish? And isn't it all right to just feel the way I feel? What's wrong with that? Why would it be embarrassing? Why is it so painful? Why is it so disturbing? What's wrong with this mind that I look someplace else? Why do I find it wrong? I have more to talk about.

[35:15]

I was going to talk some more about the family jewels and the weeds, but I think I'll stop now. And you can bring up the family jewels and the weeds. Yeah? Something I was wondering about after your last talk which sort of touched on today. It sort of feels like you're representing being at home or resenting limitations. But we all, like after this talk, we're going to check what is something that we're wondering about the function of that and what is given that we are here it's a pain. So what is the function? What do we do then? What is the function of practice? To

[36:31]

To Well, in terms of the poem by Kabir the practice is to stand firm in what you are. In Buddhism we may say to see things as they are. And that means you know, you see there's nowhere else to go to. And you also see that you don't have to there isn't necessarily a reality corresponding to the realities the expressions that are occurring in your state of mind

[37:42]

in the place where you live. Um But I think more I mean, so that's one way of understanding practice to see things as they are or to stand firm in what you are. And throw away all imaginary things. You can also understand it as what you want most deeply. So you know, Buddhism tries to say something like that with the four vows. We want to not abandon sentient beings.

[38:46]

Oh gosh, if you're going to feel that way I'm not going to have anything to do with you. And we do that to ourselves too. Not just other people. You know. And we act on our desire because we want to put an end to desire. Anyway, practice in that sense has to do with and it's connected with seeing things as they are because practice has to do then with expressing your fundamental intention or insight. Your deepest insight. You know, this question has come up last time, last lecture. How can somebody have understanding and still act like that? Understanding or insight is just a moment of understanding or insight. Then you still have a lifetime of cultivation of how do you

[39:55]

you know, because you have all your attachments and habits physical, mental, emotional habits which you're just going to keep on coming up. And then practice has to do something with how do you bring your insight to bear? How do you bring your understanding to bear? How do you bring up your mindfulness? How do you bring up your best wish? Your deepest wish? So in the you know, in terms of the place where you live and what that place is like then practice is not trying to side with one or the other. You're not trying hard enough. I've been really trying.

[40:57]

But asking both sides to encouraging both sides to be friends. Does that make sense? Well, when you change a room is that what's the difference between purifying trying to make it like a room or something? How do you separate that? It has to do with intimacy. Intimacy. Do you clean your room as an object? And it's something to accomplish? Because someone will say something? Or can you actually step into your room? And can you actually

[42:00]

be with all that stuff and all that dirt? And the pain of who you are and the things you've accumulated. And then pick those things up and put them down and move them around. Okay. Is it possible to actually be intimate with all that? Like your own body. Like your breath. Like your mind. And it's not just something out there. That's it. There's a thing that's good. The Big Dipper blowing out in the western sky. But Betsy, that's silly.

[43:02]

It seems like the Big Dipper is in the northern sky and not the southern sky. Yeah. Because whatever you're doing is not a hindrance to your seeing. It's just a poetic expression. Yeah. It's the same thing as saying it's so hectic here in the kitchen but you can still relax. No, I can't. I can't. Really, I can't. I won't. Anyway, it's that kind of idea. Even though, you know, or the idea of, you know, freedom with limitation. Every moment we have some limitation and at the same time we should find our freedom.

[44:09]

You know, if we want freedom, do you think there's actually someplace else where the soul will be less thirsty? Do you think there's someplace you can go where you can just be free? Each moment will have its limitations. So if you're busy trying to get rid of limitations, if that's the kind of place or state you're in, then we never arrive. We never get rid of them. There's always new ones. So, that's the kind of, that's the sense of practice I'm trying to convey today. Just the idea of limitations. Find your, you buy intimacy, buy your closeness with that and getting to know that but not, it's not like you're going to stick to it and keep creating it over and over again but you find your pleasure there, your relaxation there, your freedom there. You let compassion reign there. You let your heart sing there.

[45:11]

That's the place where you relax your mind. So that's the, you know, though you face south, there's the Big Dipper still. David? David? Yeah. I was hoping somebody would defend the jewels. No, it's not that there ain't none. It's just that they're inconspicuous and they're crusted over and they're buried. What's the spade? And one... I don't know that it's the, you know, the spade, okay.

[46:14]

It's so much... And so we suggest why don't you practice seeing virtue? So this is like the family jewels. You know, it doesn't look like much. I'm emphasizing today, I'm talking about how it doesn't look like much of anything. But if you look closely and carefully, then you see the jewel in it. So it's looking and it's... But it takes some looking. And when you first find a jewel, it's not all cut and polished and shiny. But, you know, that, the voice that is finding things right and things wrong and noticing mistakes and finding fault, that voice that voice is trying to help. That person wants to help.

[47:16]

It's like a parental mind. It wants to help, but it doesn't know how. But that wanting to help, that's the jewel. But you'll just notice all the nagging. So you have to help that voice realize it's a jewel. It's a jewel. You have to bring out the jewel in things. It's not just going to fall into your lap. Anyway, even in that case, does that make sense? Some. It makes sense as a metaphor. Well, the family jewel is your deep intention

[48:18]

and your wish on be strong and enter into your own body. Now, from outside, before you enter in, your body does not look like much of a jewel. But when you enter into your own body, then you find out it's a jewel. So it's only a jewel when you practice in that way. Otherwise, from outside, it will look like something to throw away, something to be gotten rid of, another piece of trash. Okay.

[49:46]

Now, let's let's Now, now There's a story about this Zen teacher who said all the universe is one bright pearl. And Dogen, when he talked about that story,

[50:51]

said this means that even distraction and delusion, mistakes, criticism are nothing but the one bright pearl masquerading as delusions and mistakes. Mistakes and criticisms. So we must if we want to see the one bright pearl, we see it when we look in that way, which is not already knowing and deciding that's good, that's not good.

[51:53]

We say, just a minute now, just a minute. Let's look again. Why don't we? Calm down now. Calm down. Don't get so excited. Calm down and look again. With some be patient now. What do you expect? Look carefully. Warmly. Kindly. And see what's going on. How do things work? What? Another question? Yes, go ahead.

[52:55]

I'm wondering if the one bright pearl is a delusion. The one bright pearl could also be I thought what you just said was when you look at your delusion you probably be saying wait a minute. Calm down. But I'm wondering if the pearl is also just just seeing the delusion without trying to change it into something else like this. Seeing this delusion and that and being just that and not being calm. Does that make sense?

[54:02]

Yes, it makes sense. But it feels when you bring it up that way it feels a little complicated. Because even if you don't see it and just accept it it's the one bright pearl. So it's much more immediately regardless of how you see it oh this is the one bright pearl. How can this how can that be so? But it's so.

[55:09]

Can I try? To give you an example of maybe self-criticism you do something and you think that's a mistake and try to correct that feeling and then you say oh, that's my self-criticism. Why am I criticizing myself? Oh, okay. It just can keep going on like that. That's right, yeah. Would the one bright pearl be at the very first step without trying to correct the second and the third step? Any step along the way is fine. You're all the one bright pearl. You can stop any place. Wherever you can stop is fine. In that kind of progression. The sooner the better. Okay.

[56:25]

Thank you. I very much appreciate your effort and willingness to investigate this matter. Thank you. May our intervention equally penetrate every meaningless place with the true merit of Buddha's wisdom.

[57:35]